Renton, WA. Key to Change presents its 5th annual Solo String Festival for middle and high school violin and viola students who live and attend school in South King County.
Students will perform and compete for prizes and participate in masterclasses and group classes with guest artist instructors. Additionally, students will receive lunch, have an opportunity to watch other participants perform, and attend the awards ceremony at the conclusion of the festival.
Masterclass teachers include local actress Shaunyce Omar, Grant Donnellan, violin professor at Western Washington University, and Seth Parker Woods, a Grammy-nominated cellist and music professor at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. The judges include Jennifer Arnold, former violist of the Oregon Symphony, Dr. Haerim Elizabeth Lee, violin professor at Texas Christian University, and Dr. Anthony Spain, conductor with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra in Burien.
Students will qualify for prizes that include college scholarships, tuition-free summer music programs, masterclasses with professional musicians from the Seattle Symphony, and opportunities to perform on Classical KING FM’s Northwest Focus Live and Unmute The Voices. Students may also qualify for performance opportunities with the Federal Way Symphony Orchestra, Seattle Philharmonic Orchestra, Tacoma Community College Chamber Orchestra, and Northwest Symphony Orchestra.